Kalamata is the celebrated almond-shaped, deep-purple table olive of the southern Peloponnese, protected by PDO and cured in brine and red-wine vinegar. The same large fruit is also pressed for oil, giving a fruity, medium-intensity result with ripe-olive, green-almond and herb notes and a moderate bitterness. As a dual-purpose variety it is most renowned at the table, but its oil is a friendly, food-loving everyday choice.
Fruity and rounded: ripe olive, green almond and herbs, moderate bite.
Table fruit picked from November; later, riper pickings for darker olives. Buy the freshest crop you can find — and check the harvest date on the bottle.